1. Field of the Invention
In at least one aspect, the present invention relates to the synthesis of multidentate organic ligands, the use of these ligands is to form porous coordination polymers and their application as sorbents or catalyst components.
2. Background Art
Microporous materials are in high demand because of their ability to adsorb a wide variety of guest molecules. These sorption properties make microporous materials attractive for applications such as storage, separation or catalysis. Optimization of these applications requires a combination of high surface area, tunable functionality, and defined pore structure.
Among different classes of microporous materials, coordination polymers have demonstrated a high efficiency for the uptake of several gases and organic molecules. The periodicity of such systems and the ability to modulate the pore size and surface area through modification of either the organic linker or metal cluster have made coordination polymers extremely appealing for sorption and storage applications. A few benchmark coordination polymers which are developed for these purposes include MOF-5 and HKUST-1.
Although the prior art microporous materials work reasonably well, there are a number of unsolved concerns. For example, many materials have relatively low surface areas and pore volumes, with broad pore size distributions.
Against this prior art background, there is still a desire for novel multidentate ligands that are useful for constructing porous materials.